Ceremony

Animals in Ceremony reflect the characters’ connections to the land and their heritage, or lack thereof. Ts’eh and the unnamed hunter (Mountain Lion) are heavily implied to be animal people, or animals that can take the form of people. These two characters have the most direct link to animals, being partly animals themselves, and their proximity to the natural world allows them to help Tayo complete his ceremony and connect with his culture. Mountain Lion assists Tayo escaping from Floyd Lee’s ranch and then leads Tayo back to Ts’eh. Mountain Lion thus guides Tayo through the most dangerous stretch of his journey: trespassing on a white man’s property and “stealing” his cattle back. Ts’eh aids Tayo in every other step of his journey after his Scalp Ceremony, appearing once Tayo has resolved to retrieve his cattle and realize his uncle’s dream of reconnecting with the land. Ts’eh and Mountain Lion symbolize Tayo’s innate connection with the land and the sacred Mount Taylor.

Tayo’s cattle also represent his ties to the land, but in a way that emphasizes its adaptability. The cattle, like Tayo, feel out of place in the environment they find themselves in; they are not from the reservation and always try to wander south, back to Mexico.